If you knew that you wanted to be a SAHM before you started a family you would save money… kids are expensive, the more money you can save the better your life will be. Since no family I know had $20,000 in a bank account when they became a SAHM I will guess that you are trying to crunch the numbers and see how it works for so many mothers to stay at home with one income.
The one thing that SAHMS have in common is they budget really well, I think SAHMS can be a great example to the finance industry, and we are.
So what my husband and I do is we look at our cost of living, (mortgage, utilities, insurance,) all the not fun stuff that we have to live on. Then we calculate what a good number for clothing and cell phone and my craft/art supplies are, that expense is also included in our total budget number. Then we see how much extra money we have left over and we live within our means with one income. It’s as simple and complicated as that.
It’s simple because numbers never lie, it’s so hard because: Ouch you mean we only have $300 left over for everything else that might happen this month? I hope and pray our vehicles and health are good. (Thank god that for the most part, we don't’ have added expenses.) That extra $300 that we didn't spend goes into a savings account.
The reality is that for SAHMS, we like to stretch our dollar as far as possible. We love going out to eat as long as the food is worth the money, which most times I don’t think it is. We use our god given common sense to manage our household, we research the crap out of things, and then we lay awake sometimes at night wondering what we would do with an extra $500. That’s the reality, but I love it and I wouldn't want it any other way. (btw, we just got back from Disney World because we finally managed to save enough, so there is fun to be had, it’s all on perspective.)
If you are accustomed to having two incomes and need to condense it to one income you may have to cut back some expenditures. It’s a sacrifice, that as a couple you have to decide. For us, we sacrificed cable, my beloved Sirius XM for a couple years, and a bigger house and a nicer/better/bigger vehicle. My thoughts on the house is this: the more room you have the more you have to clean and the more stuff you have to deal with… it’ just goes with the territory I can only clean so much... so a smaller house is better for our family.
My point: is that becoming a SAHM is a sacrifice, but all the silver and gold in the world can’t replace the nurturing power that a mom has on her child, if there is a will there is a way. I can’t tell you how many times my husband has come home and said he got a small raise in the middle of the year. The universe is on your side when it comes to finances. I will say that your husband will be able to do his job better when he doesn’t have to worry about his kids because they are in your capable hands, (that’s where raises can come into play.)
I don’t know all the tips to budgeting money, this is what has worked well for us, I have another post that will be added soon about how to contribute to the family as a SAHM and the flip side to having a SAHM in my next blog post.
I would love to hear about how you were able to become a SAHM and how you work with your finances to live the life you love! Leave a comment below.
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